Israel's Security Cabinet to Weigh US Ceasefire Deal with Hezbollah: 'We Can't Rely on Just Promises'
JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel's high-level Security Cabinet is expected to meet Tuesday night to discuss a ceasefire with the terror group Hezbollah. Some analysts believe the White House pressured Israel to accept the deal.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon announced some of the ceasefire terms.
He stated, "So, first, I expect that it will have stages. You know, it's not going to happen overnight. There will be a few stages, (a) few requirements. You know, the most important condition for us is the withdrawal of Hezbollah, North of the Litani (River). We said it from the beginning, that that will be our goal in this war.”
Other terms of the deal include: Israeli forces to pull out of southern Lebanon within 60 days; Hezbollah forces to retreat north of Litani River; the Lebanese Army and the U.N. force known as UNIFIL will ensure Hezbollah withdraws and does not reestablish its presence; a U.S.led enforcement committee will oversee the ceasefire.
Israeli leaders suggest there may be a cessation of hostilities with Hezbollah but not the end of the war.
According to the agreement, a U.S. letter will guarantee Israel has the freedom to act in Lebanon if Hezbollah attempts to rebuild its military.
“But we're not done yet. Nothing is final until everything is final," said State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller. "We continue to work to try and get an agreement over the line and we're hopeful we can get one. But we need both of the parties to get to yes.”
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Some reports indicate Israelis on the border who fled their homes on October 8th, 2023, when Hezbollah began shelling may not be able to return for weeks or up to two months.
Former Israel Defense Forces intelligence officer and founder of the Alma Research Center Sarit Zahavi went on Instagram to point out what she sees as the danger in the deal.
“But the gap lies with the question of whether Hezbollah will be able to recover or not. After what happened on October 7th, Israelis are not willing to enable Hezbollah to recover. This is not going to happen anymore. We are not going to enable that."
Zahavi added, "While I am speaking to you, there are alerts proving that Hezbollah still has the capabilities to launch rockets and missiles against Israel. We cannot rely on just promises. We need to make sure that Hezbollah is not capable of threatening us and our families over here in the north. ”
More than 60,000 Israelis from the Israeli-Lebanon border area still are prevented from living at home nearly 14 months after the Hezbollah attacks began.
In the days before the announced ceasefire, Hezbollah fired more than 500 rockets and missiles into Israel, damaging several buildings and wounding Israelis while sending millions of residents of northern and central Israel into bomb shelters.
At the same time, the IDF struck more Hezbollah command centers in Beirut and dozens of other Hezbollah sites throughout Lebanon.
However, Israeli Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, posting on X, criticized the agreement, writing that it stops short of victory.
“An agreement with Lebanon is a big mistake," he wrote. "A historic missed opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah. I understand all the constraints and reasons, and it is still a grave mistake.”
Alex Traiman, CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief of JNS News, claims the U.S. pressured Israel to accept the ceasefire deal. Yet, the Biden administration has been applying intense pressure for ceasefires since the October 7th Hamas massacre.
Traiman contends Israel feared that the Biden administration would punish the Jewish state by abstaining on a U.N. Security Council resolution and continuing its arms embargo of critical military equipment.
He told CBN News, "Nobody knows exactly why, when the Biden administration is so close to leaving office, why the pressure has finally gotten to Netanyahu. What is it that the Biden administration is threatening Israel with, aside from, potentially allowing a UN Security Council resolution against Israel to pass in the coming weeks? And we don't know what the UN security resolution could look like at this stage. But apparently, the threats are grave enough that Netanyahu is taking them very seriously."
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